Page 50 of Waltzing With Witches

But I can’t bite her. I know that. Bitter anger brushes the lust aside, reminding me to calm down, to get control. Logic fights hard to tamp down rampant lust.

Do no harm, Keeper Rule #4.

I open my mouth wide and clamp down on the gorgeous spot where her neck and shoulder meet, sucking gently at the skin as she cries out. But I don’t pierce the skin. I can’t.

Releasing the bite, I drag my tongue up the side of her neck with a huff. “You taste like heaven,” I whisper into her ear.

“I need more.” She drags those gray eyes to lock onto mine. “I need a lot more than that, Abe.”

“I can’t,” I whisper. “I am at the very limits of my self-control. If you push me, I’ll give in, and if I give in? Who knows what will happen. Push me away, please, because I am losing this fight.”

She frowns, eyes dropping to the ground. I can almost see the wheels of her smart mind working their way around the problem. There’s a part of her that thinks she can fix this.

That was me, once upon a time.

Storm-cloud eyes flick up to mine. “If you weren’t sick, you’d drink from me, wouldn’t you?”

I nod.

“And how long has it been since you filled that need?”

“Since Anberlin,” I murmur. “I haven’t taken a lover since you, Morgan. Blood and sex are inextricably intertwined for all vampires. We don’t have one without the other.”

Her nostrils flare. “Since I’m not a vampire, would it hurt me if you bit me?”

I shake my head. “Our bites are orgasmic for our mates, so no. But I can’t bite you, or I’ll infect you. I refuse to do that.”

She pauses, her mind wandering. After a long minute, she looks at me with a sorrowful expression. “I assume you don’t want me talking to anyone about this?”

“It would be best not to,” I confirm. “Although I misspoke earlier. Celset and Betmal know. I’d like to keep it a secret for now.”

“What about Doc Slade?”

“He can’t help,” I confirm. “I’m certain of that. Betmal has been on the search for information the whole time. There is nothing.”

Morgan crosses her arms. “Let’s go home. I need to think.” She turns and presses her back to my chest, pulling my hand up to rest above her heart.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper into her ear as I call my wings from my back.

“Me too,” she says softly.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

MORGAN

My mind spins all the new information around like rocks in a tumbler. Except that, instead of coming out smooth, the facts are jagged shards that stab me when I think about them.

The Keeper—no, Abe’s—behavior makes sense now. I still don’t agree with his approach, but if he would have laid all of this on me when we met, I don’t know how I would have reacted. It was already a lot to learn about what Ever was, much less that I had some fated monster mate. I don’t think I even could have understood it in the beginning. I didn’t have enough context about the monster world.

That feels like a lifetime ago. All I want to do is call Thea, Lou, and Wren and ask for their advice. I’m in desperate need of a friend.

I look up over my shoulder at the Keeper. God, I don’t think I’ll get used to calling him Abe, even though the name suits him perfectly. “Drop me at Celset’s would you?”

Something like resignation and understanding pass through his gaze, but he nods.

He unfurls his fingers, resting them flat against my chest. His left arm comes around my core as he lifts his leg and tucks it around mine. Then he scrunches down, powerful muscles bunching beneath me. When he bullets up into the sky, I choke down a terrified scream. Flying is glorious, but I’m also really afraid of heights.

How many times will I get to fly with him?

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